Be Ye Doers. . . Of The Word!

Many sincere folks who write or speak to me often remark that they are spirit-filled. My "tongues" experience is no different to the vast majority of souls claiming this gift. It is reality, but is it the truth?

Baptism Of The Holy Spirit?

After I had joined the Assembly of God, the minister invited me to receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues. He explained that I should just open my mouth and utter sounds without consciously making words. I tried it and the minister became excited and encouraged me to go on. He said that as I did this, I was talking directly to God — and I believed that I really was. The minister showed me some scriptures in the Bible that were supposed to say that speaking in tongues was a fact — a reality.

I began to speak in tongues at church and the people always congratulated me. I noticed that sometimes 200 or 300 people were uttering in this manner and it really was exciting. But I still was not content, so I started learning the scriptures so I could prophesy and foretell the future. I began giving interpretations and people congratulated me even more.

Self-Glorification

Before long I was encouraged to join the Full Gospel Men's International. At the banquets I would give testimonies about my experiences and blessing from speaking in tongues. But one thing struck me — it seemed that everybody was giving the testimony about themselves. True, it was of what Jesus had done in our lives; but I sensed somewhere along the line that there was a self-glorification. I realized what I was! I believe we were witnessing of the unholy Trinity — me, myself and I!

My Doubts Surfaced

I came home one evening from one of these meetings feeling that many of the people were looking for second blessings rather than the second coming. I stopped attending the meetings and began to critically study the Bible passages related to tongues.

For example, I was concerned over the interpretations. Sometimes the people would speak in tongues, and someone would give a translation or interpretation. Many times the same expressions were given. There was no correlation between the number of words spoken and the length of the interpretation. The interpretations were nearly always about the fields being white unto harvest, and the second coming of the Lord is nigh. Very often they spoke in the King James style, and I could never understand why?

Tongues: A Language?

The Bible is most clear that the Apostles spoke languages which they had never learned. Yet I have never come across anyone in the Charismatic Movement who was able to do this. It was always gibberish. One always heard the story of someone who had spoken in an unlearned language in another place, but there was never proof nor confirmation. With the vast media of modern times, surely we would have verification if people really had the gift of languages. It is strange that everybody could babble, but nobody could speak in a language.

At one time I spoke in tongues, and a lady said to me, "Praise the Lord, Brother Ben, you just spoke in Hebrew." I said, "Sister, do you understand Hebrew?" She said, "No." I have a knowledge of the language, and I knew that I had not spoken Hebrew.

Of course this woman didn't know because she didn't even speak the language. This is the same thing that occurs in the "healing miracles." Some people talk about things that don't really happen. They exaggerate, and exaggerating is a lie. God says liars will not enter heaven.

It seems strange that everybody had the gift of tongues, but no one had any of the other gifts of real merit, like they did in New Testament times — drinking poison, speaking languages, raising the dead or the gift of discernment.

Tongues: A Sign For Unbelievers

As I began to study further into the Bible, one passage that always stuck with me was 1 Corinthians 14:22, which says, "tongues is a sign for the unbeliever." At a Sunday morning service there might be some unbelievers, but at a midweek prayer meeting, there were no unbelievers. Yet we were still speaking in tongues, and it just didn't make sense.

I started to speak out against this, using the Bible to show that it was wrong. The strange thing was that these people with so-called fruits of the spirit — love, joy, peace, longsuffering, etc. — responded as they did. Instead of displaying these fruits, I found the opposite to be true. I have been threatened physically ten times and once I was punched in the chest by men who supposedly love the Lord Jesus Christ! My wife, Miranda, was threatened by one man who raised his fist and wanted to hit her.

Division In The Church

Having spoken in 34 states, I have found nothing but division when tongues were introduced into a church. I personally want to honor God's Word, and I oppose anything that causes division. Tongues cause division. Anything that causes division is of Satan.

Tongues To Fortune Telling

Many interpreters or so-called prophesiers would tell people what was going to happen to them in the future. The Bible tells us this is divination, the art of obtaining secret information of the future, and it is forbidden by God (Deuteronomy 18:10).

At the very last charismatic clinic that I attended, the speaker was telling the listeners their future. I spoke to this man and warned him that he was fortune telling. His reply: "That's right, I am a fortune teller for the Holy Spirit."

We are assured in 2 Peter 1:3 that everything we need to know is written in the bible and we don't need to go to so-called prophets or fortune tellers to know what is going to happen. We have been given the assurance of eternal life (Ephesians 1:13-14).

The evidence of tongues will not save us. We are saved by repentance and baptism for the remission of our sins in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, and then we receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. . . not a gift, but THE gift of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38).

Many things are revealed to us by the Holy Spirit, and all born again believers receive this. We have the Word of God. We accept Jesus on faith, and faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God (Romans 10:17). Not just plain faith in itself, but faith in the death of the Lord Jesus Christ, and faith in the resurrection.